By Jaboner Jackson 10:30 pm | After a much needed vacation, the FOOTBALLPHDS are back in Los Angeles to continue to bring you the Real NFL and NCAA Spin From LA. And there’s no better way to immerse ourselves back into the flow than digging into the Heisman Palmer (aka Carson Palmer) vault once again. It is no secret that the PHDs have a man-crush on Palmer, no matter what his retirement status may or may not be. This week, we are going to bring you Four Days of Heisman Palmer, with the hope that by investigating Palmer’s past, we can accurately predict his future. Today, we start with his high school years at Santa Margarita High School in Orange County, CA.

Like most great quarterbacks, Palmer was a stud from the very beginning. When his mother, Diana Palmer, gave birth to him, she was allegedly shocked at how big her new baby boy was, weighing in at 10 1/2 pounds. By the time he was in seventh grade, Palmer had remarkable size and arm strength for his age. His father, Bill Palmer (aka Papa Palmer), saw that Palmer had all of the tools to be something special, and so he enrolled Palmer in private classes in Orange County taught by quarterback guru Bob Johnson.

Having grown up in Orange County, Palmer was a local boy turned prep all-star at Santa Margarita High School, but for a while, it appeared doubtful that Palmer would play at Santa Margarita. Papa Palmer was working on the East Coast when Carson was scheduled to enroll in Santa Margarita as a freshman. Initially, the plan was to move the family to the East Coast but after careful consideration, Papa Palmer realized that the level of competition in California was best for Carson. Carson enrolled at Santa Margarita and Papa Palmer commuted home on weekends via airplane.

After a successful stint as a starter his junior year, Palmer started to field offers from USC, Notre Dame, Colorado, and Miami. He followed up a stellar junior season with a remarkable senior season, cementing himself as the most touted player ever to come out of Santa Margarita High School and living up to his pre-season All-American hype. In his senior season, he demolished the competition in Orange County with a 203.9 QB rating. He was named to the First Team All-League and All-CIF despite suffering a stress fracture in his right foot that kept out a few games. He came back to obliterate Tustin High School in the CIF finals.

It was during these formative years in high school that Carson became serious about football. Even to this day, he cites his father as an inspiration for the sacrifices he made. It was also during these years that Carson’s strong Christian faith was formed.

Tomorrow evening, we will go over Carson’s time at USC. By the time Friday rolls around, you will be able to see clear as day where (or if) Heisman Palmer will be playing in 2011. Remember: if you do not study history, you are doomed to repeat it. Nonetheless, if you don’t study history, it’s okay because we will break it down for you.

Anyone who saw the 1997 Tustin-Santa Margarita Southern Section championship game would disagree that Palmer came back to “obliterate Tustin,” as you suggest here. It was one of the most celebrated games in Orange County high school history and it lived up to its billing as it matched the QB Palmer against Tustin running back DeShaun Foster. As I recall, Santa Margarita trailed, 21-14, but scored on all but one of its possessions; with about two minutes left in the third quarter, Santa Margarita had only a one-touchdown lead. Santa Margarita won, 55-42. Palmer passed for about 420 yards and five touchdowns, and Foster ran for about 375 yards and six touchdowns. It was an awesome game — not an obliteration.